Visual presentation of multiple internet pages

ABSTRACT

A novel method for graphically organizing and displaying multiple pages of internet content based on how the page was accessed. Pages are determined to be indirectly accessed if they were accessed via a hypertext link or a trail of hypertext links. Pages are determined to be directly accessed if accessed via other means, such as a bookmark or via Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Page groupings are created for each directly accessed page, and each indirectly accessed page is categorized into a grouping associated with a directly accessed page containing a link through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed. The web pages are presented to the user in an interface that is a graphical representation of the page groupings, wherein a user selects a page to view by first selecting the page&#39;s page grouping and then selecting the page.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments relate generally to the field of internet browsing. More particularly, embodiments relate to a method and a system for organizing and presenting internet content based on the avenue through which the content is accessed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the most important and common functions of modern personal computers is providing access to and presenting Internet content. Internet content is typically provided and presented to users by means of an internet browser, such as SAFARI® made by APPLE® Inc., of Cupertino, Calif. or FIREFOX® made by MOZILLA® Corp., of Mountain View, Calif. or INTERNET EXPLORER® made by MICROSOFT® Corp., of Redmond, Wash.

The increasingly commonplace use of internet browsers and the concomitant growth in quality, quantity, and linkage of Internet content has led to new expectations regarding the ease of navigating the wealth of information found on the internet. With the advent of more sophisticated websites, many of which provide extensive useful content, updated daily or more often, users of internet browsers have begun accessing internet content in new ways. Whereas users once accessed single websites as destinations, perhaps following one or two of the hypertext links therein, users are now more likely to access particular websites as entry points.

For example, news organizations have built elaborate websites that rival print media in currency and usability. Users may access such a site and find many articles worth reading, each of which is contained in a separate webpage. Furthermore, increasingly savvy authors pepper these articles with hyper-text links to related articles, original sources, or other content of interest, each of which is contained in a separate webpage.

Another developing internet use model involves what are known in the art as “aggregators.” Aggregators are websites that perform the function of allowing users to customize what content should be accessible and linked to from the user's customized view of the website. Aggregators are typically used to provide a single point of access to a customized plurality of content-providing web pages to which new content is added regularly, such as web-logs (blogs) and news sites.

The result of these shifting use patterns is that users are now more likely to access many web pages in parallel, rather than sequentially. As a result, the first model of presenting web content, in which new pages were always opened in new graphical user interface (GUI), windows became inadequate. Having more than one or two web browser windows open is distracting and difficult to manage. The traditional means of switching between GUI windows often identified different windows with only a title, containing the name of the application, which does not provide enough information to the user looking for a window containing a particular web page. Even if more information is included in the title, the information is largely limited to textual information, which can be inadequate or cumbersome to use. Within the multiple-window model, a user cannot easily find a particular web page when he or she has many pages open concurrently.

Thus, an improved model for presenting multiple pages of web content became popular. This model, known in the art as “tabbed browsing,” is so named because of the multiple tabs in which a user is provided with content. This prior art presentation of multiple pages of internet content is illustrated in FIG. 1. User display 100 is a typical view of the tabbed browsing model. In this model, multiple web pages are all viewable within a single GUI window, user display 100. The content of the pages is viewable one page at a time, and the view can be switched from one page to another via tabs. Thus, in the figure, the content, 105, of PAGE 3 is being viewed. PAGE 1, PAGE 2, and PAGE 4 are presented in tabs, 101, 102, and 104, respectively. A user can view the content of PAGE 1, for example, by selecting its tab, 101, with the cursor, 110.

Unfortunately, tabbed browsing continues to present drawbacks similar to those of the model upon which it sought to improve. Chiefly, a user still cannot easily find a particular web page when he or she has many pages open concurrently. In FIG. 1, only 4 pages are open, and so the interface is manageable. However, once the number of open pages is doubled, or tripled, as is not uncommon for modern internet users, tabbed browsing becomes just as cumbersome as its predecessor model. As there is limited room for tabs, an interface such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1 presents a problem when more web pages are accessed than there is room to display tabs. One solution is to shrink the width of the tabs, which results in their titles being unreadable and leaving the user with no way to identify which tab corresponds to a particular web page for which he or she is searching. An alternative is to allow the tabs to extend off the screen, and provide some means to scroll through them. However, scrolling is not an ideal method of searching for a particular textual title. Indeed, tabbed browsing continues to present a model in which a user must identify a web page based solely on the title of that webpage, when titles often do not provide adequate distinctions between open pages.

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

A method for graphically organizing and displaying multiple pages of internet content based on how the page was accessed is described. Pages are determined to be indirectly accessed if they were accessed via a hypertext link or a trail of hypertext links. Pages are determined to be directly accessed if accessed via other means, such as a bookmark or via Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Page groupings are created for each directly accessed page, and each indirectly accessed page is categorized into a grouping associated with a directly accessed page containing a link through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed. The web pages are presented to the user in an interface that is a graphical representation of the page groupings, wherein a user selects a page to view by first selecting the page's page grouping and then selecting the page.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art model for presenting a user with multiple pages of internet content;

FIG. 2 a is a block diagram of a first view of a user interface implementing the claimed model for presenting a user with multiple pages of internet content, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 b is a block diagram of a second view of a user interface implementing the claimed model for presenting a user with multiple pages of internet content, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for organizing multiple web pages for presentation to a user, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a computing device on which embodiments of the invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.

In general, the embodiments described below describe methods and systems for organizing multiple pages of web content and presenting them to a user in a graphical representation of the organization. Specifically, in various embodiments, pages are categorized as either “directly accessed” or “indirectly accessed.” A page is considered indirectly accessed if the user accessed the page by clicking on a hypertext link or a series of such links. If a page was accessed by other means, such as by requesting it via its Uniform Resource Locator (URL) (e.g. typing or copying and pasting the URL into a text entry filed) or by requesting it via a bookmark, it is considered directly accessed. Once the pages are categorized, they are assigned to page groupings. In various embodiments, one page grouping is created for each of the directly accessed pages, such that there is a one-to-one relationship between page groupings and directly accessed pages. Each of the indirectly accessed pages is then assigned to one of these groupings based on the link or series of links through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed. To be more precise, each of these pages is assigned to the grouping associated with the directly accessed page containing the link or a link in the series of links through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed.

FIGS. 2A-B illustrate two views of one implementation of the described method of presenting multiple web pages to a user. The following descriptions of these figures make use of the term “snapshot.” A “snapshot” of a webpage should be read to mean a scaled down representation of the webpage as it would appear in a normal browser window. A snapshot is analogous to what is known in the art as a “thumbnail” representation. In one embodiment, the snapshot or thumbnail can be a static view of the webpage as it appeared when initially accessed. In another embodiment, the snapshot or thumbnail can be a dynamic view of the webpage such that it is updated as the user interacts with it, for example, by scrolling.

User display 200 shows a web browser interface with a GUI representation of five page groupings, 220, 221, 222, 223, and 224. The page groupings are represented as snapshots of the directly accessed page associated with each group. Element 201 represents a carousel-type mechanism for switching between page groupings. Page grouping representations 220, 221, 222, 223, and 224 are displayed as rotating through the “carousel” represented by element 201. Carousel 201 has a distinct front position in which the page grouping representation is viewed as distinctly larger than the other page grouping representations. As can be seen in the figure, page grouping 221 is in the front position, and is represented as much larger than page groupings 220, 222, 223, and 224. A user can rotate another page grouping to the front position by selecting it with the cursor, 202.

The front position, where page grouping 221 is located in this illustration, may be made distinct from other carousel positions by other means than as displayed in FIG. 2A. For example, the front position may be nearer the top of the carousel, or to the side. Alternatively, it may not be distinctly larger, but instead highlighted with a special border. One of skill in the art will appreciate that there exist many means to graphically make one element distinct from other similar elements. The use of any other means than the one illustrated should not be construed as a departure from the spirit of the invention.

Element 203 is the area of user display 200 for displaying snapshots of the indirectly accessed pages associated with the page grouping in the front position. In the figure, elements 210, 211, and 212 are the indirectly accessed pages associated with page grouping 221, which is visually represented by the directly accessed page in the grouping. When another page grouping is rotated to the front position by a user selecting with the cursor 202, the snapshots in area 203 transition to the snapshots of the indirectly accessed pages associated with the page grouping rotated into the front position.

A user selects an indirectly accessed web page for full-scale viewing by selecting it with the cursor 202 while it is displayed in area 203. A user selects a directly accessed web page for full-scale viewing by selecting it with the cursor 202 when it is in the front position of the carousel. Selecting a directly accessed web page that is not in the front position of the carousel will rotate that page into the front position. Thus, to view a page, a user selects the associated page grouping to rotate it to the front, then selects a page from the selected grouping.

In the illustrated embodiment, when a web page is selected for full-scale viewing, it is displayed as shown in FIG. 2B. Web page 205 is shown in user display 200 in the entire visible area. Varying implementations enable the user to return to the interface illustrated in FIG. 2A in varying ways. For example, a user might use a keyboard command, or what is known in the art as a “gesture” made with the pointing device, or cursor 202. Alternatively, user interface 200 may have a menu item or toolbar button that may be selected by cursor 202 to return to the interface in FIG. 2A.

The interfaces shown in FIGS. 2A-B are simply one implementation of a display creating a visual representation of the page groupings. As one who is skilled in the art may easily observe, alternate implementations can be employed to represent the same organization scheme. For example, the page groupings might be displayed in a horizontal or vertical film-strip style list of snapshots in the interface, with the indirectly accessed pages associated with the selected page grouping displayed in the carousel. Alternatively, the page groupings and associated indirectly accessed pages may be represented as lists within adjacent frames in user interface 200. Yet another implementation could be achieved by mimicking the COVER FLOW® interface featured in the iTUNES® music player made by APPLE®, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Yet other embodiments might include displaying page groupings in a 3D view. Further variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the claimed invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for organizing multiple web pages for presentation to a user and displaying them according to the implementation illustrated in FIGS. 2A-B. At 301, the method begins with getting a page that a user accesses. At 302 the method determines whether the page was accessed directly. If so, a page grouping is created for that page at 303. Otherwise, the page was accessed indirectly and the page is categorized, at 304, into an existing page grouping based on which directly accessed page contains a link through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed. At 305, the page is displayed at full-scale. At 306, the method receives a user request to display the page groupings, resulting in display of the carousel interface at 307.

At 308, the method waits for user input. If a user selects a page for full-scale viewing, at 309, the page is displayed at 310. Then, when the user requests the carousel view at 311, the carousel representation is displayed again, in 307, as before. If, instead, the user accesses a new page, 312, the method determines at 313 whether the page is accessed through a link, and categorizes the page accordingly. If the page was accessed through a link, it is categorized into the page grouping associated with the page containing that link, at 314. Otherwise, a new page grouping is created for the newly accessed page, at 315. In either case, the page is then displayed, in 310, as before.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exemplary form of a computer system 400 within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The exemplary computer system 400 includes a processor 402, a main memory 404 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 406 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory 418 (e.g., a data storage device), which communicate with each other via a bus 408.

Processor 402 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. More particularly, the processor 402 may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 402 may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like. Processor 402 is configured to execute the processing logic 126 for performing the operations and steps discussed herein.

The computer system 400 may further include a network interface device 416. The computer system 400 also may include a video display unit 410 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), and a cursor control device 414 (e.g., a mouse)

The secondary memory 418 may include a machine-readable storage medium (or more specifically a computer-readable storage medium) 424 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 422) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The software 422 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 404 and/or within the processing device 402 during execution thereof by the computer system 400, the main memory 404 and the processing device 402 also constituting machine-readable storage media. The software 422 may further be transmitted or received over a network 420 via the network interface device 416.

While the machine-readable storage medium 424 is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present invention. The term “machine readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.

Various operations or functions are described herein, which may be implemented or defined as software code or instructions. Such content may be directly executable (“object” or “executable” form), source code, or difference code (“delta” or “patch” code). Software implementations of the embodiments described herein may be provided via an article of manufacture with the code or instructions stored thereon, or via a method of operating a communication interface to send data via the communication interface. A machine or computer readable storage medium may cause a machine to perform the functions or operations described, and includes any mechanism that stores information in a form accessible by a machine (e.g., computing device, electronic system, etc.), such as recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.). A communication interface includes any mechanism that interfaces to any of a hardwired, wireless, optical, etc., medium to communicate to another device, such as a memory bus interface, a processor bus interface, an Internet connection, a disk controller, etc. The communication interface can be configured by providing configuration parameters and/or sending signals to prepare the communication interface to provide a data signal describing the software content. The communication interface can be accessed via one or more commands or signals sent to the communication interface.

The present invention also relates to a system for performing the operations herein. This system may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CDROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

The methods and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more a specialized system to perform the required operations of the method. Structure for a variety of these systems will appear as set forth in the description below. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language or operating system. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein, and the teachings may be implemented within a variety of operating systems.

The operations and functions described herein can be implemented as software modules, hardware modules, special-purpose hardware (e.g., application specific hardware, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc.), embedded controllers, hardwired circuitry, etc.

Aside from what is described herein, various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments and implementations of the invention without departing from their scope. Therefore, the illustrations and examples herein should be construed in an illustrative, and not a restrictive sense. The scope of the invention should be measured solely by reference to the claims that follow. 

1. A method for displaying multiple pages of internet content comprising: determining whether each of multiple pages was accessed directly or indirectly by a user, wherein each directly accessed page was accessed by the user in a manner other than by selecting hypertext links, wherein each indirectly accessed page was accessed by the user selecting hypertext links, and wherein the multiple pages comprise a directly accessed page and an indirectly accessed page; creating a page grouping for the directly accessed page; categorizing the indirectly accessed page into the page grouping, wherein the categorizing is based on the page grouping being associated with the directly accessed page through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed by the user selecting a hypertext link or a trail of hypertext links; receiving a request by the user to display the page grouping, the page grouping having a selected status; presenting, through a graphical user interface (GUI), the user with a visual representation of the page grouping and the pages contained in the page grouping; transitioning the selected status from the page grouping to another page grouping within the GUI in response to user input; and enabling the user to select from the page grouping having the selected status, a page to view within the GUI.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein each new page that the user requests is categorized into an existing page grouping if the new page is accessed indirectly; and a new page grouping if the new page is accessed directly, such that there is a one-to-one relationship between page groupings and directly accessed pages.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the request to display the page grouping comprises user input including at least one of a keyboard command; a GUI toolbar item selection; or a specific gesture created with a pointing device.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the visual representation of the page grouping comprises a carousel-style representation of the page groupings, each grouping displayed as a selectable snapshot of the directly accessed page associated with the page grouping, wherein the carousel-style representation has a distinct front position.
 5. A method according to claim 4, wherein user selection of a snapshot within the carousel-style representation of the page groupings results in display of the directly accessed page associated with the snapshot, if the selected snapshot is in the front position; and otherwise rotation of the carousel-style representation to place the selected snapshot in the front position.
 6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the GUI further comprises a selectable thumbnail-style snapshot for each indirectly accessed page in a page grouping associated with the directly accessed page currently in the front position of the carousel, wherein user selection of a thumbnail-style snapshot results in display of the indirectly accessed page associated with the thumbnail-style snapshot.
 7. A method according to claim 5, wherein rotation of the carousel-style representation is animated.
 8. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory machine accessible storage medium having content to provide instructions to result in a machine performing operations including: determining whether each of multiple pages was accessed directly or indirectly by a user, wherein each directly accessed page was accessed by the user in a manner other than by selecting hypertext links, wherein each indirectly accessed page was accessed by the user selecting hypertext links, and wherein the multiple pages comprise a directly accessed page and an indirectly accessed page; creating a page grouping for the directly accessed page; categorizing the indirectly accessed page into the page grouping, wherein the categorizing is based on the-page grouping being associated with the directly accessed page through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed by the user selecting a hypertext link or a trail of hypertext links; receiving a request by the user to display the page grouping, the page grouping having a selected status; presenting, through a graphical user interface (GUI) on a display, the user with a visual representation of the page grouping and the pages contained in the page grouping; transitioning the selected status from the page grouping to another page grouping within the GUI in response to user input; and enabling the user to select from the page grouping having the selected status, a page to view within the GUI.
 9. An article of manufacture according to claim 8, wherein the instructions to result in a machine performing operations include instructions to result in a machine categorizing each new page that the user requests into an existing page grouping if the new page is accessed indirectly; and a new page grouping if the new page is accessed directly, such that there is a one-to-one relationship between page groupings and directly accessed pages.
 10. An article of manufacture according to claim 8, wherein the instructions to result in a machine presenting the user with the visual representation of the page grouping includes instructions to accept user input comprising at least one of a keyboard command; a GUI toolbar item selection; or a specific gesture created with a pointing device.
 11. An article of manufacture according to claim 8, wherein the visual representation of the page groupingcomprises a carousel-style representation of the page groupings, each grouping displayed as a selectable snapshot of the directly accessed page associated with the page grouping, wherein the carousel-style representation has a distinct front position.
 12. An article of manufacture according to claim 11, further including instructions to result in a machine enabling user selection of a snapshot within the carousel-style representation of the page groupings that results in display of the directly accessed page associated with the snapshot, if the selected snapshot is in the front position; and otherwise rotation of the carousel-style representation to place the selected snapshot in the front position.
 13. An article of manufacture according to claim 12, wherein the GUI further comprises a selectable thumbnail-style snapshot for each indirectly accessed page in a page grouping associated with the directly accessed page currently in the front position of the carousel, further including instructions to result in a machine enabling user selection of a thumbnail-style snapshot to result in display of the indirectly accessed page associated with the thumbnail-style snapshot.
 14. An article of manufacture according to claim 12, further including instructions to result in a machine animating the rotation of the carousel-style representation.
 15. An apparatus for displaying multiple pages of internet content comprising: a means for determining whether each of multiple pages was accessed directly or indirectly by a user, wherein each directly accessed page was accessed by the user in a manner other than by selecting hypertext links, wherein each indirectly accessed page was accessed by the user selecting hypertext links, and wherein the multiple pages comprise a directly accessed page and an indirectly accessed page; a means for creating a page grouping for the directly accessed page; a means for categorizing the indirectly accessed page into the page grouping, wherein the categorizing is based on the page grouping being associated with the directly accessed page through which the indirectly accessed page was accessed by the user selecting a hypertext link or a trail of hypertext links; a means for receiving a request by the user to display the page grouping, the page grouping having a selected status; a GUI for presenting the user with a visual representation of the page grouping and the pages contained in the page grouping; a means for transitioning the selected status from the page grouping to another page grouping within the GUI in response to user input; and a means for enabling the user to select from the page grouping having the selected status, a page to view within the GUI; wherein at least one of the means for comprises a processor.
 16. An apparatus according to claim 15, further including a means, for each new page that the user requests, to categorize the page into an existing page grouping if the new page is accessed indirectly; or a new page grouping if the new page is accessed directly, such that there is a one-to-one relationship between page groupings and directly accessed pages.
 17. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the visual representation of the page grouping is requested by user input including at least one of a keyboard command; a GUI toolbar item selection; or a specific gesture created with a pointing device.
 18. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the visual representation of the page grouping comprises a carousel-style representation of the page groupings, each grouping displayed as a selectable snapshot of the directly accessed page associated with the page grouping, wherein the carousel-style representation has a distinct front position.
 19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein user selection of a snapshot within the carousel-style representation of the page groupings results in display of the directly accessed page associated with the snapshot, if the selected snapshot is in the front position; and otherwise rotation of the carousel-style representation to place the selected snapshot in the front position.
 20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the GUI further comprises a selectable thumbnail-style snapshot for each indirectly accessed page in a page grouping associated with the directly accessed page currently in the front position of the carousel, wherein user selection of a thumbnail-style snapshot results in display of the indirectly accessed page associated with the thumbnail-style snapshot.
 21. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the rotation of the carousel-style representation is animated. 